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Bill Berzeench

America's Team?

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We just have to be patient and when we find that championship core, you have to go for it every year. The hard part is making sure we pick the right guys going forward. Between Mrazek, Larkin, AA and Mantha there's a guy or two that are core players but we need a dman of that caliber

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After seeing the ratings for the WC the last 2 years, I have to wonder: Are the Detroit Red Wings the Dallas Cowboys of hockey?

How bout dem Red Wings!!

Interesting thought, but under the Iltich ownership no way do they completely s*** on a player or coach the way the Cowboys did with Tom Landry and replaced him with a coach whose college program had cheating scandals.

I agree, if the Wings get back to a final, the band wagoners will be all aboard.

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The thing about the Cowboys, is they are a huge attraction even when they stink. That's why they are considered by some as "America's Team".

The Blackhawks are not that, if anything the Hawks would be comparable to the Pats, they are the team that is just on top. Once they drop off, they wont sustain the same level of popularity.

So the question is, what NHL team has a loyal fan base and attracts ratings regardless (to a degree) of how they are playing. My guess would be either the Wings or Rangers. I don't see it being anyone outside of original 6, and I don't think its Hawks or Bruins.

If anything, I would say that now a days in the its more player based. The media tends to promote players rather then teams. For example, if Pittsburgh faces Washington in the playoffs, you are going to be hearing more "Crosby vs Ovie" then "Pitts vs Wash"

Its easier in Canada where its clearly the Leafs. I cant turn on anything hockey related without seeing something Leafs.

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The thing about the Cowboys, is they are a huge attraction even when they stink. That's why they are considered by some as "America's Team".

The Blackhawks are not that, if anything the Hawks would be comparable to the Pats, they are the team that is just on top. Once they drop off, they wont sustain the same level of popularity.

So the question is, what NHL team has a loyal fan base and attracts ratings regardless (to a degree) of how they are playing. My guess would be either the Wings or Rangers. I don't see it being anyone outside of original 6, and I don't think its Hawks or Bruins.

If anything, I would say that now a days in the its more player based. The media tends to promote players rather then teams. For example, if Pittsburgh faces Washington in the playoffs, you are going to be hearing more "Crosby vs Ovie" then "Pitts vs Wash"

Its easier in Canada where its clearly the Leafs. I cant turn on anything hockey related without seeing something Leafs.

Great post. The Kings have a very good fan base, as well. But Kings fans do not stretch across the nation. Chicago fans are bored bulls fans who are bored bears fans. You are right about their lightswitch propensity.

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There is no America's team. Not even the Cowboys. This isn't the 70's. The NFL is so big now that pretty much everyone has a local team they root for.

Hockey is a niche sport, and hockey fans don't typically like the Red Wings. I don't see any NHL team getting national recognition in the media.

Edited by GMRwings1983

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Its easier in Canada where its clearly the Leafs. I cant turn on anything hockey related without seeing something Leafs.

From my experience, most of Canada has a certain dislike for The Leafs and also often Toronto as a city. Toronto and the GTA is just the largest concentrated population so they do have the largest 'local' fanbase. It's also the center of the Canadian media world so they cater to the large Ontario market.

Edited by PavelValerievichDatsyuk

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There is no America's team. Not even the Cowboys. This isn't the 70's. The NFL is so big now that pretty much everyone has a local team they root for.

Hockey is a niche sport, and hockey fans don't typically like the Red Wings. I don't see any NHL team getting national recognition in the media.

This. A team can't be America's team if it doesn't play America's sport.

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I would guess the Red Wings have the biggest fan base in the NHL, due to our playoff streak, 4 Championships since 1997, and the number of Europeans on the team. Our players are very likable too, they don't play dirty or whine.


Edit: I'll add, the low ratings for the Winter Classic was probably due to overkill.

Edited by Barrie

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From my experience, most of Canada has a certain dislike for The Leafs and also often Toronto as a city. Toronto and the GTA is just the largest concentrated population so they do have the largest 'local' fanbase. It's also the center of the Canadian media world so they cater to the large Ontario market.

Everything you just said is true. The Leafs are a very polarizing team, they are loved, and they are hated. What differentiates them from other teams is that everyone has a strong opinion of them. Thats why I compared them to the Cowboys.

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Agreed with the above. I've lived in Toronto for the past 17 years, but grew up on the east cost of Canada. Leafs are loved across the entire country and also hated across the entire country (every seems to have a strong opinion). Montreal is basically in the same bucket. My guess is that generally speaking, Western Canadians (other than transplants) would hate both the Leafs and Canadiens. This is the same politically as well, lots of people in Western Canada (Alberta specifically) aren't too fond of Ontario.

I'm probably in a bucket of having a strong dislike for the Canadiens, but not having much of an opinion on the Leafs prior to moving to Toronto. Having been in Toronto for awhile, I'd say that I do tend to pull for the Leafs a bit (which goes against the general rule of either loving or hating though). I think I tend to pull for them a bit simply because of the excitement it builds in the city if they were to go on a run. It was amazing the vibe going around here this summer/fall with the Blue Jays.

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I agree with what's been said about the Leafs. I'll add, the Leafs have lost a generation of fans in the Toronto area, due to not playing any meaning full hockey since 2004. I've heard it talked about on sports talk radio. Kids don't want to cheer for losing teams. The majority of Leaf fans are middle age.

There's a lot of Red Wings and Canadiens fans in Southern Ontario, just wait until the Sabres start winning. Having family across the river from Detroit in Windsor, I make a lot of trips to the Detroit area. Once you get to Highway 401 there's Red Wings gear everywhere at the rest stops. The same maybe true when driving north on the 401 with Canadiens gear.

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I don't necessarily think we need a Shea Weber, Subaan type on D, especially when we have a potential star goaltender in Mrazek. If we could put together a balanced group like the caps we could be winners

True, but Mrazek can't play 82+ games.

We don't have a true top/elite DEF but we have 6 top 4a/4b def which was not bad either. However, this team needs a true TOP Def and those ones will rarely hit FA.

Caps are having better Def and Off... and they have Carlson maybe one of the most underated def. in todays NHL

Edited by Dominator2005

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I saw this on Yahoo while I was getting my political frustrations out anonymously, instead of on Facebook for my friends and family to read. Gutless I know :lol: but I don't want to be a jerk on Facebook.

Anyway, it's shows the most popular NHL team by State. We only have 2, Michigan and Alaska, but I still think we have the biggest following in the League. We've probably top 5 in almost all the other 48 States.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/map-shows-most-popular-nhl-164811769.html

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I saw this on Yahoo while I was getting my political frustrations out anonymously, instead of on Facebook for my friends and family to read. Gutless I know :lol: but I don't want to be a jerk on Facebook.

Anyway, it's shows the most popular NHL team by State. We only have 2, Michigan and Alaska, but I still think we have the biggest following in the League. We've probably top 5 in almost all the other 48 States.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/map-shows-most-popular-nhl-164811769.html

Don't agree with it at all.

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